Ipswich Town Reduce Capacity For Tottenham’s EFL Trophy Visit

IPSWICH, ENGLAND - JANUARY 13: A general view of the action during the Sky Bet Championship match between Ipswich Town and Leeds United at Portman Road on January 13, 2018 in Ipswich, England. (Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images)

Ipswich Town have announced that a number of large sections of Portman Road will be closed for the visit of Tottenham.

Tottenham Visit Ipswich Town In EFL Trophy

Reduced Capacity

Competing in the Leasing.com Trophy with clubs in League One and League Two, the Tractor Boys were drawn alongside Colchester, Gillingham and Tottenham’s Under 21s in the group stage.

Town make their debut appearance in the competition on Tuesday 3 September against Spurs and supporters will experience an eerie atmosphere at Portman Road.

As a result of the competition regularly enduring low attendances, only the lower North Stand and bottom two tiers of the East of England Co-op stand will be opened.

Further sections of the stadium will be opened should demand exceed expectations.

More than 24,000 supporters saw Town’s first home game of the season – a 1-1 draw with Sunderland – while more than 18,000 watched Town score in stoppage time to beat AFC Wimbledon 2-1 on Tuesday.

The total combined attendance from Town’s first two home games is the highest since 2008-09.

Historically Low Attendances

It has been no surprise to football fans that attendances in the EFL Trophy have been low; well-supported clubs such as Sunderland were followed by crowds of around 8,000. This was comparatively low compared to the Mackem’s season average of 32,000.

MK Dons hosted two group games last season yet an average of only 1,711 watched in the 30,500-capacity stadium.

Promoted Luton Town also suffered low attendances in the competition despite red-hot form in the League. The Hatters struggled to surpass 1,200 from their three fixtures in the tournament.

From four fixtures in the competition, Accrington Stanley were supported by an average crowd of just 889; 308 supporters witnessed Gillingham’s only home fixture in the tournament.

Sunderland and Portsmouth met in the EFL Trophy Final. Breaking the final attendance record for the competition, over 85,000 travelled to Wembley.